Alderson Denies the Mets Were Under Any Payroll Constraints

Sandy Alderson denied an earlier report by the New York Post that the Mets had payroll restrictions imposed on the team by the Bank of America, he told reporters today in St. Lucie today.

“If you’re referring to banks or owners or other interested parties, I think the answer clearly is no. There are no constraints on the payroll,” Sandy said.

According to Marc Carig of Newsday, Alderson told reporters that his current payroll budget sits somewhere north of $85 million, which includes promotions and insurance.

“Every team has payroll constraints, including those teams who have signed big free agents and are now saying, ‘I have no money,'” Alderson explained.

“I feel very confident that it will climb back up. At the same time, we need to have some success on the field, which drives some attendance, which drives some additional revenue — all of those things.

“I understand it’s incumbent on us to have some success on the field in order to do that.”

Keep in mind that north of $85 million is not the same as saying north of $93 million which was what the Mets’ Opening Day payroll was last season.

At times, Alderson will speak openly about the team’s finances while at other times he remains very vague and almost as if he knows as little as we do. Today, the Mets GM was very informative and ready with his responses.

I believe Sandy was delivering the Wilpon’s latest talking points on Mets money matters. Nothing wrong with that of course, that’s what most GMs do.

“We’d like to have more players but that doesn’t always make you a better team,” Sandy said to wrap up things up.

That of course sounds like the Mets offseason has officially wrapped up.

We’ll never know all the details about the level of financial distress the team is under. But we do know that on many occasions, what the Mets have said publicly about their financial state has been found to be just as erroneous as much of the speculation.

This goes back to the Mets’ first official statement on this black cloud, when they emphatically reported that the Madoff situation would have no bearing on team payroll and operations.

Facts are facts.

We are heading into the third consecutive season of payroll decline all while the message from the top is that everything is perfectly fine.

So let’s summarize:

Payroll will be north of $85 million counting everything but including the kitchen sink.

Adding better players doesn’t make you a better team.

We’re confident payroll will eventually rise.

Use your own judgement on these matters.

Information from the Daily News, New York Post and Newsday were used in this article.

I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73, '00 and '15, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction and interact with other passionate Met fans like you. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.